In this sermon, the Rt. Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley offers a reflection on how God calls the Church to live together across human differences. Drawing from the geography of both Long Island and the Lowcountry of South Carolina, Bishop Ruth introduces the metaphor of an estuary—a dynamic space where fresh and salt waters meet, collide, and generate vibrant new life.
Using Jesus’ commission of the 72 disciples in Luke 10, she challenges the belief that unity requires uniformity. Instead, she asserts that creation and God both possess an "extravagant appetite for diversity" and that true Christian communion requires holding our distinct identities, histories, and traditions together in shared love.